Wilted Rose: The Bride Before Himemiya
by princesshope14
Summary: A new shows up at Ohtori Academy claiming to be a duelist. And now she has discovered a secret. There was another Rose Bride before Himemiya? What duels and secrets will unfold in this hidden chapter of the Utena story?
1. Introduction

"Anthy is the Rose Bride. I think we can all agree on that."

"Or at least she was. She's her own person now, right?"

"Yeah. I think so."

"Oh look. We have visitors."

"Looks like we do. Hello there!"  
"Greetings to you all. We are narrators."

"Yes but not normally. We actually have pretty big roles in Amanda-san's other stories. I'm Rinika Chidori."

"And I'm Yuki Saikano. Usually we work together with Amanda's alter ego Aiko, but today we are here to narrate an Utena Fanfiction."

"And what would any fanfiction be without a disclaimer section? Or a title? Yuki, would you please read the title?"

"Of course, Rini. Ahem

Wilted Rose:

The Bride Before Himemiya."

"By none other than Amanda Lynn. Say Yuki, doesn't she have an email?"

"Why I believe she does. I think it's I think we should go on to the Disclaimer Section. Now, Amanda does not hold any claims to the Utena Manga, Show, or Movie. This includes the people-"

"Like Utena"  
"Or Anthy"

"Or Akio"

"Or Touga"

"Or Nanami"

"Or any of the student council members"

"This also includes the places-"

"Like Ohtori Academy"

"Or the Dueling Arena"

"Or the East Dorm"

"Or the Headmasters Building"

"Or the Observatory and Planatarium."

"Or the Rose Garden."

"But Amanda does hold claims to her own characters and the situations that happen in this fanfiction."  
"Amanda's characters consist of:"

"Kyo Aiko"

"Koephex"

"Kabraxes"

"Failariel"

"Amarie"

"Evilness"

"Jikino Mirai"

"Akarino Shinjite"

"Akarino Hinoshita"

"Serenity"

"Kyo Selena"

"Kyo Minna"

"Kyo Austmin"

"Cara"

"Shadow"

"Lilya"

"And of course, me an' Rini."

"The only people alklowed to use these characters are Jason K and Turi T. Other than that, keep your mitts off!"

"This fanfiction takes place in the Apocalypse Saga."

"That's between volumes 4 and 5 for you manga readers out there."

"If Amanda isn't accurate series wise, please be kind pointing it out to her."

"That's right! She lives for Utena, but has limited access to Episodes."

"Now we will be making comments here and there. So we've developed a text set up."

"That's right. The story and character diolauge will be in regular text like this."

"**Yuki's narration and comments will be in bold like this."**

"_And Rinika's narration will be in italics like this."_

"So without further ado,"

"On with the show!"


	2. Part One

_Wilted Rose_

_The Bride Before Himemiya_

_By_

_princesshope14_

_It was a peaceful time for Utena. No one had challenged her to a duel in a long time, Touga was keeping his hands to himself, and finals had just ended. She basically had the evening free, so she was having personal time with her friend, Chu Chu, and her bride, Anthy._

**By personal time, we mean Utena teasing Chu Chu with a cookie and drinking tea with Anthy.**

_Shut up! I get to narrate first! Anyway, with finals over with, she finally had time to try and make progress with Anthy._

"Say Anthy," Utena said before sipping from her cup. "Mmm…great tea, first of all. It tastes different from before."

"Thank you, Utena-sama," Anthy said smiling, feeling Utena stiffen when she said her name. "I tried mixing rose petals in it this time with a little cloves." Utena took another sip and smiled.

"Well I think it's excellent," Utena said. "By the way, Wakaba's dorm is holding an End of Finals party, and she invited us. It'd be a great chance for you to make more friends."

**To wrap up this scene, Anthy agreed to go to the party, and they left. Now let's get to the good part. My narration.**

_Hey! That's not nice…_

…**Anyway, on the other side of the academy, a new student was wandering around aimlessly. She knew her dorm room wouldn't be ready until the next day, but every hotel nearby was full and wouldn't accept her. She was wondering where she would sleep for the night when a man, whose brilliant red hair could be seen even in the dark of the night, was walking towards her.**

"Well who might you be?" the man asked, smiling at the young girl. He glanced at a locket hanging from her neck and something right beside it. The girl smiled and bowed.

"My name is Aiko," she said softly. "I was invited to this academy for my excelling grades in all subjects." She picked up her locket to look inside. The man finally saw what the object hanging next to it was. He extended his hand and introduced himself.

"My name is Touga Kiryuu, and I am the student council president of this school," he said keeping his eye on the object dangling from her neck. "I suppose you would like to meet with the headmaster." Aiko shook her head.

"No…" she said, still smiling. "My meeting with him is not until tomorrow. And sadly, my dorm won't be ready until tomorrow either." Touga chuckled.

"Well, it so happens, I have an empty room in my dorm," he said. "But it will cost you one bout. Do you know kendo or fencing?" Aiko shook her head again.

"What do you mean?" she asked. "Why would you think that I could fight?"

"Because you have one of these," Touga said, picking up the object beside her locket. "A rose crest. Only the duelists have them. And just so you know, you usually wear them around yourleft ring finger." He swiftly took the locket off Aiko's neck and removed the rose crest from the chain. "May I?" He lifted Aiko's left hand and placed the rose crest on her ring finger. "There. You're now officially a duelist. And an elegant one at that." Touga lifted her hand to his mouth and kissed it softly. Aiko ripped her hand from Touga's grasp and scowled.

"Look, I wear my rose crest like I want to," she said as she ripped the ring off her finger and put it back on the chain around her neck. "Anyway, I thought you wanted to duel." She took out a dagger with a crescent blade and smiled.

_Hey! I know that dagger! It's not a dagger at all! It's a-_

**Shut it, Rini, or you'll get us fired. Now, Touga led Aiko to his dorm, passing the south dorm along the way. Aiko heard music from inside of the building. She saw a blur of pink and purple, talking and laughing to each other, and she scowled.**

…_Is it my turn now?_

**Yes. It's your turn.**

_Yay! So meanwhile, in the south dorm, everyone was having a gay old time, celebrating the end of Hell -ahem- Finals. And wouldn't you know it, a farewell party was being held at the same time. Minori, one of the seniors of the dorm announced that by finishing her finals, she had officially graduated from high school._

"Now you'll still see me around the school," she said excitedly. "As you might know, I'm moving to the college dorm. This dorm is for the junior high and high school students."

_The dorm was filled with tons of "don't go"s and "we'll miss you"s. Obviously, Minori had been the favorite of the group and would truly be missed. But all this didn't really intrigue Utena._

"I wonder if…" Utena started, but light classical music started to play and she smiled. She got up in front of Anthy and bowed. "May I have this dance?" Anthy took Utena's hand and they started to dance.

_So anyway…um…Yuki…_

**What, is your boring narration over already?**

_Hey! Could you try and be polite?_

…**Whatever…Now, back at the president's dorm, Nanami was giving both Touga and Aiko tons of hell. **

"And who's this? I thought I was the only one, big brother! Why'd you bring this tramp here? Hey, don't ignore me! Answer me!"

"Nanami!" Touga said in a big booming voice. Right away, Nanami shut her mouth. "She's just a sparring partner, alright?" Nanami nodded and Touga continued walking. "This way, Aiko-chan." Nanami saw the other girl wince at this name and looked on in wonder.

**Anyway, once in the dojo, Touga showed Aiko to a room where she could change into more loose clothing. When she heard Touga go into a different room to change, she pressed a button on her brooch. Suddenly a fluke wind came through and blew off her traveling clothes and a loose pleated skirt and a loose blouse appeared instead, complete with her black mask she wore whenever she fought. She held her crescent dagger and sighed. **

"This is just training…" she told herself as she heard Touga coming back into the room. "Just some training before my next test…then I'll bring someone else back…but for now I'm just training." She chuckled to herself. "But that doesn't mean I have to go easy on him, does it?" She heard the clacking of a shinai being picked up and grasped the door handle. "Well here we go…"

_Anthy's laughter brought a smile to Utena's face._

**_This is the real Anthy…_** she said to herself. **_This is the girl beyond the bride. This the girl who wants to break free. And I have to protect not the bride, but the girl trapped inside._**

**Aiko started to sweat while both she and Touga took a break to catch their breath. She laughed weakly, getting up with her hand on a button on her dagger.**

"Oh you're good," she said and coughed softly. "I was hoping I wouldn't have to use this, but I will offer you to switch weapons now." She pushed the button and the crescent dagger turned into a magnificent staff bigger than herself.

"How'd you-" Touga started, but then closed his eyes and smiled. "Of course. Just give me a minute to retrieve my katana." He went over to a rack and pulled a shining sword from it. "Let's dance…yah!"


	3. Part Two

_Wilted Rose_

_The Bride Before Himemiya_

**Touga and Aiko fought deep into the night, stopping everyonce in a while to get some water and continue where they left off.**

"Hah! Yah!" Aiko was really getting into the bout. She remembered what someone told her when they found her training one day.

"**_Hand-to-hand combat isn't for everyone," _**he had said. **_"Even though you may not be very skilled in that field, you know your staff every well, and treat it with respect. As you go along, learn from your staff. Feel its movements in battle. Hear its cries in spell-casting. And above all, love your staff."_**

"I am, sensei," Aiko breathed before blocking an attack from Touga.

"You're very skilled," Touga said after attacking. "At least in defense. Now come at me." Aiko stared in disbelief.

"Are you out of your mind?!" she screamed "I could kill you with this thing!"

"I want to see your attack patterns," Touga said, cool as a cucumber. Aiko reluctantly agreed and started into offense mode. Her moves were swift and quick. But even though they were too fast for the normal human, Touga blocked every single attack she had. She fiercely searched for an opening found one right below his left breast pocket.

**_That'll have to do, _**she thought quickly before slashing at that exact spot. Touga managed to block it, but it took such an effort that both his sword and her staff had gotten tangled within each other, pulling them both to the ground, Touga on top of Aiko. Aiko turned a deep shade of red as she tried to get up, but Touga wouldn't budge.

"Hey…" Aiko said in a barely a whisper. "Get off of me…"

"Your eyes…" Touga started. "They're-"

"I know…" Aiko interrupted. "Frightening…"

"No…"Touga said, caressing Aiko's cheek. "They're beautiful…the most luscious blue eyes I have ever seen…" He got up and lifted Aiko's small, child-like body, carrying her to an empty dorm room beside his own. He laid her down on the bed and lifted off her mask, kissing her gently on the forehead afterwards.

"Sleep-tight, now," he said as he walked toward the door waiting for Aiko's eyes to close before leaving. As soon as the door was closed, Aiko's eyes snapped open and the crept to the wall, quiet as a mouse, listening through it. She heard the phone ring and Touga picking it up.

"Moshi moshi?...Ah, it's you….not bad….yes…she's here…really?...that's interesting…she's how old?...I wouldn't have taken her for six…" Aiko silently fumed. "She does? So soon?...But shouldn't she wait until…No…I understand…Student Council tomorrow?...Sure, I'll bring her…Really?...I was already planning on it…" Somehow, Aiko knew what that meant. She quickly jumped back into bed and pulled the covers over her head. She didn't want to do this. She tried to stop the tears that kept flowing from her eye even as she wiped them away.

"What should I do?" she whispered to her open locket. She heard Touga's door open and close and terror spread throughout her body. He knocked on her door and opened it.

"Aiko…" he whispered, walking towards the bed. "Are you asleep?"

"No…" Aiko sobbed, sitting up to look at him. "I can't sleep, Touga…this place is a lot different than where I live…its torture being alone!" She broke down then and there. Touga came over and held her lovingly.

"Tell you what," he started, wiping tears from Aiko's eyes. "Why don't you sleep in my room? Then maybe you won't be so lonely." Aiko looked up at him and thought a minute.

**_No I don't want to sleep in your room! _**she thought. **_I already know what you're gonna do, and that'll make you no different from Yuki. So no! No, no, no, no, and did I mention no?!_**

"Okay…" Aiko said quietly, wrapping her arms around Touga's neck so he could carry her next dor. He set her in a chair as he turned back the covers. When his back was turned, she closed her eyes and a fluke wind blew of her sparring clothes and a sleeping slip replaced them. Touga turned around, looked shocked for a second, then smiled seductively, taking a strand of Aiko's long blonde hair in his hand.

"Beautiful…" he said softly, quickly pulling her into his arms, falling into the satin pink sheets.

End of Part Two

Hi everyone! This is princesshope14! I hope you're enjoying Wilted Rose. I'm the kind of writer that likes to keep her readers happy. And I think it would be best to switch from having actual characters narrate to having regular 3rd person narration. So after this you will no longer be seeing Rinika and Yuki narrating. Thank you for reading everybody! And be sure to leave those comments! I love comments!


	4. Part Three

_Wilted Rose: The Bride Before Himemiya_

_Part Three_

The next morning, Aiko was on her way to the Headmaster's building, when she saw two girls coming her way, one with purple hair and one with pink hair. She remembered what Touga had told her the night before.

"_**There's a girl with pink hair and wears a boy's uniform. Her name is Utena. Make friends with her. If she finds out you're a duelist, she'll never trust you. And tomorrow I want to take you to meet the student council after your meeting with the headmaster."**_

Aiko quickly hid her rose crest/locket under her shirt. She then walked over to the two girls and bowed.

"Hello," she said in a sweet voice. "My name is Aiko. It's a pleasure to meet you."

The girl with purple hair bowed as well and said, "Pleasure to meet you, Aiko. My name is Anthy Himemiya."

"And my name is Utena Tenjou," the girl with pink hair said. "Are you here to join the elementary school?" Aiko laughed nervously, trying to keep her temper.

**_Come on,_** she told herself. **_It's not like this is the first time someone has made that mistake. Don't lose your temper and ruin your chance at friendship. _**"Actually, I'm in high school. I'm on my way to a meeting with the headmaster. He'll give me a dorm assignment then I'll head to my dorm to change into the school uniform. That's the building up there, isn't it?"

"Yup, that's it right there," Utena said. "Sorry about my mistake. I'm sure you'll enjoy it here."

"Thank you," Aiko said as she bowed again and started walking toward the building once more. "I hope we meet again soon!" she called out to the two girls. **_There. That wasn't so hard, was it? Now they probably think your pretty cool and want to be friends with you. _**She climbed the steps and rang the doorbell. A tall, dark, handsome man with long light purple hair held in a ponytail by a green bead answered the door.

"You!" Aiko said, shocked.

"Me?" the man questioned, suspicious.

"I-I mean," Aiko started, "Y-you must be the headmaster! Akio Ohtori, correct?" Suddenly she regretted coming to the headmasters building at all. Maybe if she made a run for it, she could get out of the academy-

"Why don't you come inside and we'll…talk…about your dorm assignment and classes," he said in a deep voice.

"S-sure, why n-not?" Aiko said, stepping inside. **_Great…what have I gotten myself into this time…Good going, Aiko…_** She followed Akio into his office and sat down. "I don't mean to be in a rush or anything, but could you just give me my dorm room and class schedule?"

"Oh no, Miss Aiko," Akio said. "I said we would talk, and that's what we'll do. Talk."

"I was afraid of that…" Aiko said.

"Now we invited you to Ohtori Academy because of your elementary teachers feed-back from kindergarten," Akio started. "But it seems you dropped out of kindergarten and haven't been in a proper school since."

"I have a funny feeling someone's told me this before," Aiko said nervously. "I've been teaching myself. I've been teaching myself college lessons, because high school lessons are too easy."

"Well, we're willing to give you a chance if you're willing to go to classes," Akio said. "We'll put you in a freshman class-"

"Freshman!" Aiko screamed. "But I'm 15! I should at least be in a sophomore class!"

"-And after a few weeks," Akio continued, "If you're doing well, we'll give you a couple college classes. I'm sure you'll find that once you're in a classroom, the work is much harder than teaching yourself. Are you willing to cooperate?"

"Y-yeah…" Aiko said softly. "Yeah…I'll go to classes…"

"Good girl," Akio said. "Now here's your dorm room number and class schedule. You may go now."

"Thank you, sir…" Aiko said, taking the slip of paper from Akio and walking out of the room, down the hallway, and out the door.

"Whose that?"

"What's she doing?"

"She looks like she's trying to find a dorm."

"Hey! She stopped at Wakaba's dorm!"

"Maybe she's her little sister."

"Maybe _who's_ my little sister?" Wakaba walked up to the crowd and saw a little looking girl open the door to her dorm and walk inside. "I don't have a sister…Maybe she's my new room mate. Funny though, I thought this dorm was only for middle and high school students. She looks like she's still in grade school. Oh well, I better introduce myself." She walked over to her door and was about to go inside when she heard crying. "Oh, poor thing. She's probably home sick. I'll give her some time alone." She turned around and left.

When Aiko finished crying, she got up and went to the wardrobe. She pulled out a uniform that looked her size and put it on.

"Wow…" she said softly as she looked at herself in the mirror. "It fits perfectly…I wonder what size it is…" She looked at the tag on the skirt, which said "Elementary Size". Her eye started twitching as she suddenly said, "Argh! I'll kill whoever put this in my wardrobe!" She looked at the clock on the wall. "Oh no! I'm late! Oh, Touga's going to be mad at me!" She took off running, following a map Touga had given her the night before to the Student Council Area elevator. She stepped inside, pressed a button, and she was on her way up.


	5. Part Four

_Wilted Rose: The Bride Before Himemiya_

_Part Four_

"Everyone, this is Aiko. If you notice the rose crest next to her locket, you will see that she is a duelist."

Touga was introducing the student council to Aiko, who was looking down and blushing. She wasn't quite used to people looking at her.

"What is End of the World thinking?!" Juri said. "She's just a child!"

"No more of a child than you are," Aiko said, getting irritated. "I'm 15, you know." She got up and bowed to Touga. "Thank you for introducing me…but I have a mission to take care of." She turned to the elevator when Miki clicked his stopwatch and shouted, "Wait!" He ran up to her and asked, "What class are you in?"

"Freshman…" Aiko said, rather disappointed. "I should be in a much higher class. I was teaching myself college courses before I came here…"

"Well, if the need arises," Miki started, "I'm willing to help you with your work."

"Are you…" Aiko began, blushing a bit. "Are you hitting on me?"

"N-no!" Miki screamed. "O-of course not!"

"Well, if I ever need help," Aiko started, "I'll make sure to call on you…what was your name again?"

"Miki Kaoru," Miki said. "It was wonderful to meet you."

"Oh please," Aiko replied. "The pleasure's all mine." She bowed again and walked into the elevator and began her descent.

Back at the South Dorm, Aiko walked to her dorm room and opened the door to find a girl with short brown hair tied back in a ponytail, revealing a very large forehead. The girl smiled and said, "Hello! You must be my new roommate. I'm Shinoharu Wakaba. What's your name?"

"Kyo Aiko," Aiko said shyly. "I'm in 9th grade."

"Well, Aiko," Wakaba began, pointing at a box, "That box just came for you. It's from someone named…Serenity?" Aiko rushed at the box and ripped it open. In it was a variety of bubble wrapped things and a note. She took up the note and read it to herself.

"**_My Dearest Daughter,_**

_**How are you enjoying school? I sent you some things to make you feel more at home. Inside this box are many pictures of your friends, your angel wing pin, and all 8 Books of Power, including the last two you wrote yourself. I want to let you know that this school may not be for just an education. You might accomplish yet another test there. So stay on your toes, and be wary for danger. We aren't here to protect you this time, but I have a feeling you'll meet a friend or two who will. Keep your chin up and remember, no matter how serious things may seem, there's always room to have fun.**_

_**Your Loving Mother,**_

_**Serenity"**_

**_A friend or two…_**Aiko thought. **_I wonder whom she could be talking about…_**

"So who's Serenity?" Wakaba asked, peeking inside the box. "A friend of yours?"

"She's my mother," Aiko said softly, smiling slightly as she unwrapped a picture of a younger version of her standing with her old friends Rinika Chidori and Yuki Saikano. She remembered the time they were all together, before Yuki went bad and they all separated. She wondered where they were now, and wondered if they thought about her like she thought about them. Aiko unwrapped another picture and it brought tears to her eyes.

"Koephex…" she muttered as she stared at her standing with a man with spiky blue hair and soft kind eyes. This man in the picture had given his life to save her not all that long ago. He gave her the locket she wore and for that, she never takes it off.

"Was that your boyfriend?" Wakaba asked, looking over Aiko's shoulder. "He's pretty cute."

"I guess you could call him my boyfriend," Aiko said, taking the two pictures and putting them on her dresser. She then began to unwrap the Books of Power one by one. The Book of Love. The Book of Music. The Book of Friendship. The Book of Intelligence. The Book of Memory. The Book of Patience. And the two she wrote herself, the Book of True Spirit, and the Book of Grievance. She carried them all to the bookshelf and placed them on the shelve in order. She looked at the clock on the wall, then to Wakaba.

"Do you know a girl named Utena Tenjou?" Aiko asked her.

"Do I ever!" Wakaba said happily. "She's like my best friend! Do you want to go visit her?"  
"Umm, sure," Aiko said, getting up. "What dorm is she in?"

"Well, she not exactly in a dorm," Wakaba said. "She lives in the headmaster's building with Anthy Himemiya and the headmaster, lucky her."

"The headmaster's building?!" Aiko screamed. "Why on earth is she living there?!"

"Because the headmaster invited her to," Wakaba explained. "She says she's having a good time."

"I bet she is…" Aiko muttered.

"What was that?" Wakaba asked.

"Nothing," Aiko said. "C'mon, let's just go visit her." Wakaba agreed and they headed off to the headmaster's building.

Hi, everybody! princesshope14 here! I wanted to let you know a couple things about the pictures and the books in this part. First of all, I'm writing a big series, entailing a bunch of sub-series. The first six Books of Power are in a foundation series simply called Scariest Thing About Being Brave, or S.T.A.B.B. for short. The two Books of Power that Aiko wrote are the first two in her series called S.T.A.B.B. Spirit. If you want to hear more about these books, send me an email. Now to explain the pictures. The first picture has the original narrators Rinika and Yuki. If you may recall from Part Two, Aiko was thinking to herself **_No, I don't want to sleep in your room. I already know what your going to do and that will make you no different from Yuki._** In the Spirit series, Aiko's mom dies, but is brought back to life later in the series. During the time her mom is dead, she gets together with Rinika and Yuki and they form a club called the Parentless Trio, for they all had lost their parents. After a couple years, Aiko begins to trust Rinika and Yuki, perhaps a little too trusting. Yuki ends up doing something horrible to Aiko and lost her trust completely. Rinika never found out because neither Aiko nor Yuki told her, and one day they all split up, which was a little sudden to Rinika. As of this point in the story, Aiko hasn't seen either of them since. Now the second picture is of Koephex, or Aiko's first prince. Aiko almost died trying to complete her test against a man named Evilness. Koephex stepped in, taking himself and Evilness to the Realm of Death. Aiko still hasn't gotten over this and thinks about him often, talking to her locket thinking he can hear her that way. Well, that's basically it for now! Keep reading, and leave comments! I loves me some comments!


	6. Part Five

_Wilted Rose: The Bride Before Himemiya_

_Part Five_

Wakaba and Aiko walked up the front steps of the headmaster's building, Wakaba extremely excited and Aiko extremely nervous. Wakaba rang the doorbell and Akio answered the door.

"Hello, Miss Wakaba," he said, then nodded to Aiko. "Miss Aiko." Aiko gulped. Something about this man seemed familiar, and not the good kind either. Something about him just screamed, "Run away from me!" and Aiko was ready to, except she had a mission. Make friends with Utena Tenjou. Plus she wanted to get to know this Anthy Himemiya. She had a familiar sense to her too.

"We're here to see Utena," Wakaba said smiling. "Is she here?"

"Yes she's here," Akio replied. "Her and Anthy just got back from their walk around campus. We were all just about to sit down for tea. Would you two lovely ladies like to join us?"

"Sure!" Wakaba said excitedly. "We'd love to, right Aiko?"

"Y-yeah…" Aiko said, following Wakaba inside. They followed Akio to the dining room.

"Utena!" Wakaba exclaimed at seeing her friend. "I want you to meet my new roommate. This is-"

"Aiko, correct?" Utena said. "We met earlier this morning."

"You actually remembered," Aiko said smiling. "Thank you, Utena. Now who's making the tea?"

"Anthy is," Akio said, sitting down at the table. "Now, won't you two sit down too?"

"Of course!" Wakaba said, sitting down. She turned to Aiko. "You sit too, Aiko." Aiko reluctantly sat down, careful not to sit next to Akio. Anthy then came in with tea on a tray.

"Tea is served," she said sweetly.

"Wonderful, Anthy," Akio said as Anthy served the tea.

After tea, Akio went to the planetarium to observe the stars, leaving Utena and Anthy with Wakaba and Aiko. Aiko was fiercely searching for a way to let Utena know she was a duelist without losing her chance at a friendship.

"I have to use the bathroom," Wakaba said, excusing herself from the room.

**_Good, _**Aiko thought. **_This gives me a chance to let Utena know._** "So Utena," she said, pointing at Utena's hand. "What's that ring on your finger?"

"Oh, this?" Utena said, lifting her hand up to her face. "It's a ring my prince gave me."

**_Perfect answer, _**Aiko thought to herself, reaching for her locket. "Really? My prince gave me this locket." She took the locket out from underneath her blouse, also revealing her rose crest. Utena saw the rose crest and a fowl look spread across her face. "Utena, please understand. I don't know exactly what this ring is for. All I know is that it makes me a duelist. If it hurts you to know that I am a duelist, please know I will not try and hurt you with that power."

"It's not me I'm worried about," Utena said. "I'm worried about Himemiya. All who possess that ring fight the victor of the duels to gain her."

"Please, I won't hurt her either," Aiko said, tears forming in her eyes. "I just want to be friends with you two. You seem like nice people and I just want to be your friend. Not your enemy. Please don't hate me!" She bowed deeply and let the tears fall to the ground. "Enough people hate me without this ring. I don't need more people to hate me. Please Utena. I won't fight you…Not to gain Himemiya…If it makes it any better, I'll take it off!" She took the ring off her chain and set it on the table in front of Utena. "Now will you be my friend Utena?" Anthy got up and retrieved the ring, walking to Aiko. She placed the ring back on the chain, wiping Aiko's tears away afterwards.

"You're such a pretty girl," she said smiling. "You shouldn't cry. Don't worry, I trust you."

"Himemiya…" Utena said, then smiled. "Well, if Himemiya trusts you, then I guess I trust you. You don't have to be so sad. I just am used to people dueling me as soon as they let me know they're duelist. It was my mistake." She got up and walked over to Aiko, putting her hand on her shoulder. "You really are a sweet girl. I'd be happy to be your friend."

"Thank you, Utena," Aiko said. Wakaba walked back in.

"Okay! I think we've stayed long enough," she said, taking Aiko by the hand. "We'll see you in class tomorrow!" Aiko waved goodbye to Utena and Anthy as she walked to the front door with Wakaba.

Back in the south dorm, Wakaba and Aiko were hanging out in their room.

"What should I do with this box?" Wakaba asked.

"Just put it in recycling," Aiko said, looking up from her notebook. She wrote constantly, hoping that it will be for another Book of Power. She had a feeling, though, that all that happened here at Ohtori Academy wouldn't be acceptable for a Book of Power. Still, she wrote about all that happened in the last two days. Wakaba picked up the box and was about to put it outside, when she saw something toward the bottom.

"Hey Aiko," she called. "There's another picture in the box!" She brought it to Aiko before sitting down next to her to see the picture too. "I wonder what it's of." Aiko looked shocked. "Say, isn't that Anthy Himemiya? I wonder what she's doing in a long dress like that?"

"Are you blind, Wakaba?" Aiko asked. "That isn't Anthy. That's me." Though Aiko could see how Wakaba could make that mistake. Aiko did indeed look like Anthy in the picture, her hair rolled up like hers, glasses over her eyes. Aiko remembered that she wore glasses when she was younger, but no matter how hard she racked her brain, she could not remember a time she wore that dress or wore her hair that way. Somehow, she knew this had to do with Anthy, and her mysterious role in the ways of the duelists. And she could think of one person who could tell her what this picture meant. "I need to talk to the Student Council President."

END PART FIVE


	7. Part Six

_Wilted Rose: The Bride Before Himemiya_

_Part Six_

Aiko stepped up to Touga's dorm and knocked on the front door. To her dismay, Nanami answered the door.

"Well, well, well," Nanami said, looking down at Aiko. "If it isn't the little tramp."

"Look, Nanami," Aiko said. "I know you don't like me, and I have no problem with that. But right now I have urgent business. Is Touga Kiryuu at Home?"

"I'm sorry, tramp," Nanami started, "But Touga's not here right now."

"Nanami!" Touga called. "Who's at the door?"

"Okay, so he's here," Nanami continued. "But he's busy right now."

"Must not be too busy," Aiko said. "Or else he wouldn't be coming down the stairs to see whose at the door." Nanami turned around and there was Touga coming toward the door.

"Ah, Aiko," Touga said. "What brings you here?"

"I have questions," Aiko began, "And I need answers."

"Come on in," Touga said, opening the door all the way.

"But big brother-" Nanami started.

"Nanami," Touga told his sister. "We have business to take care of."

"Thank you, Touga," Aiko said, and she walked inside. Touga led her to the living room.

"So what's this about, Aiko," he asked Aiko, sitting down. Aiko remained standing.

"Who is Anthy Himemiya?" Aiko asked. "I want you to tell me everything you know about her. And I also want to know what this picture is about and why the hell I look so much like her in it." She pulled out her picture and gave it to Touga, who looked at it for a minute.

"Who gave you this picture?" he asked.

"My mother sent it to me," Aiko replied.

"Funny, a mother usually wouldn't have a picture of their daughter dressed up like a Rose Bride."  
"Rose Bride?" Aiko questioned. "What's that?"

"Well let's answer your first question," Touga said. "Anthy Himemiya is the Rose Bride. She holds the sword of Dios in her bosom and is the key to eternity. That's basically why there are duelists. Duelists fight in order to win her, and thus win the key to eternity. She is Akio Ohtori's sister and now lives with him.

"Now about this picture. I don't see any explanation but that you've been to this academy more than once. Can you remember being here before, either as a duelist or a regular student?"

"No I ca-" Aiko started, then memories came rushing back to her. She gripped her head in pain.

"Aiko, are you alright?" Touga asked, getting up from his chair. When the pain subsided, Aiko looked to him and said, "Touga, is it possible that I might have been a Rose Bride?"

"I don't think so," Touga said. "The only Rose Bride that I've heard of is Anthy Himemiya. But still, it could be a possibility."

"Thank you, Touga," Aiko said. "Now I need your help. I told Utena that I wouldn't, but I see now I have no choice." She went over to him and whispered in his ear.

"Of course," he said. "Yes, I think it's the right choice."

The next day, Utena was walking to her locker with Wakaba.

"Anyway, yesterday Aiko and I saw the weirdest picture and – what's that?"

Utena knew what it was. A letter was hanging in her locker.

"TO THE ENGAGED" the letter said. "MEET ME IN THE DUELER'S ARENA AFTER SCHOOL"

END PART SIX


	8. Part Seven

_Wilted Rose: The Bride Before Himemiya_

_Part Seven_

Extra! Extra! Extra!

I remember something long ago. I was something I didn't want to be.

Was it a bear?

No!

Was it a bee?

No!

Was it a book?

Absolutely not!

What were you then?

Maybe a child?

Utena gathered her strength and walked up to the elevator that led to the dueling arena. Slowly, she and Anthy began to change into dueling regalia. When they arrived at the top, Utena gasped.

"Aiko? What are you doing here?" Aiko looked like a younger version of the Rose Bride, only her skirt was short enough so she could move around easily. Standing beside her was Touga Kiryuu. "Touga put you up to this, didn't he?"

"No Utena," Aiko said, sliding the rose crest from her locket chain and sliding it on to her finger. "I decided to do this all on my own. I swear to you I will win this duel in benefit for the Rose Bride. I'm sorry to have to fight you like this, but it must be done." She turned to Touga.

"This will hurt," Touga said, slowly bending Aiko backwards. A light emitted from Aiko's chest as a blade began to come through. The pain was immense, but Aiko made not a sound. When Touga was finished pulling Aiko's weapon, he handed Aiko her magnificent sword and a blood red mask.

"Ah, I see," Aiko said at the mask. "Blood will be mixed with my tears for eternity." She turned to Utena and said, "Draw your weapon, Utena Tenjou!"

Anthy pulled the sword from Utena and Utena stood at the ready. Anthy placed a white rose in Utena's breast pocket and a lavender rose in Aiko's. The bells rang and the duel began. Aiko realized right away why Utena was the victor of the duels. Her strength was great, but not as great as Aiko's. Aiko had been fighting since she was truly a child. She soon forced Utena into the defensive.

"But-you-were-such-a-sweet-girl-Ah!" Utena fell to the ground. Aiko pointed her sword at Utena.

"I'm not doing this to gain eternity as you might think," Aiko said. "No, I only want to free her. She deserves that. I'm sure you agree. But you can't free her like I can. Now get up!" She grabbed Utena's arm and pulled her up. Akio came up the stairs and stood beside Touga and Anthy.

"So who's winning?" he asked.

"Aiko," Touga replied. "She has much more strength and stamina than Utena. Utena won't win…unless…Ah, the power of Dios…" And just as he said, Dios was descending from his castle in the sky. As if ready to embrace him, Utena held her arms out, gazing upward. Aiko stared in wonder.

"What is this…" she muttered. Utena lunged at Aiko. "What's going on!" Aiko held her sword across her, kneeling to the ground, the look on her face of a scared little girl. "No!" But before she could stop it, her rose was cut off and the petals scattered in the wind. "No…no…no! No it can't be! I must free her!" She got up and weakly ran to Anthy, and fell before her, pulling on her long skirt. "Please, Anthy! You need to be free! And I can give you that! Please, Anthy! You must listen to me!"

"Give it up," Utena said, walking to Aiko, gently prying her hands from Anthy's skirt. "You lost the duel. Now get on with your life." Aiko looked to Touga when she saw Akio standing beside him.

"You!" she screamed. "I knew I had a bad feeling about you! How can you let your own sister go through this torment! You're such a cruel person!" She rushed at him with her staff, when Utena grabbed her and held her back. "What're you – I need to – let me go!" Utena kept a grip on her.

"There's no need to take your anger out on Akio," Utena said. "What did he ever did to you."

"Oh, if you could only imagine," Aiko said, her anger starting to build up. She eventually got free of Utena's grasp and ran to the elevator, going down to the entrance of the dueler's arena, tears in her eyes. She didn't understand it. She had never failed a test before.

Later that night, Aiko hid in the bushes next to the headmaster's front door. She was waiting for Akio to go out for his nightly drive. When he came out the door, Aiko stayed quiet as a mouse. Akio walked to his car and drove off without noticing Aiko at all. As soon as she couldn't hear Akio's car anymore, Aiko got out of the bushes and rang the doorbell. Utena answered the door.

"Utena," Aiko started, "We need to talk."

"Aiko, what's this all about," Utena asked. "Are you still bitter about the duel?"  
"No, Utena," Aiko said. "I just want to talk to you about Anthy Himemiya…and me…what we have in common…"

END PART SEVEN

Hi everybody! I just have a random note for you all. When I was writing the duel, I imagined Aiko's Banyu Inryoku (sp?) in my head. It's kind of a combination of Suteki da Ne from FFX and Wakaba's duel song. Okay that's all for now!


	9. Part Eight

_Wilted Rose: The Bride Before Himemiya_

_Part Eight_

"Utena-sama," Anthy said. "Why is Miss Aiko here so late at night."

"She and I have something to discuss," Utena said.

"Anthy can hear it too," Aiko said. "It would do her some good to know the truth about herself."

"Alright," Utena said, and then took a seat. She pointed at a chair facing her and said to Aiko, "Please, sit down." Aiko sat down and took a deep breath.

"My mind is still a little bit fuzzy on ALL that happened," she said. "But I'm pretty sure I have enough memories discovered to tell you my story of Ohtori Academy.

"Firstly, I need to tell you I've been to this academy before. I don't really know how long it ago it was, but I know it was not of my own choice. Want me to tell you how I got here?" Utena nodded. "Alright. Years and years ago, when I was only a child, there was a man named Amarie. He wanted nothing more than to have me and my 'power', and I know he did because I read books about my ancestors that he tortured them because they were connected to me. Ever since he found out I was born, he has been plotting to corrupt me somehow. I even think he was behind my mother's death. One day, when I was around 10 years old, I met with him in battle in a deserted field. I remember it was dark and cold and I realized as soon as the fight began, I was not ready for it. All I knew were a couple of attacks with my sword; I did not have my staff yet, after all. Then he suddenly shot an attack at me called 'Red Blades Dragon', an attack that separated his sword into a million pieces. A million red hot blades of hate slashed me in different directions, one of them piercing through my chest and landing in my heart. After I fell to the ground, he turned to leave. I thought he was taking pity on me.

"The pain in my heart was great for a few months after that, but it slowly disappeared and soon I forgot about it. I still didn't remember it when Amarie found me in an orphanage, claiming that he was back to retrieve his blade. I didn't know what he was talking about, but suddenly he grabbed me and tipped me backwards, his hand over my heart. That horrifying pain I felt when I was ten and the blades pierced me in every part of my body came rushing back to me. I screamed as loud as I could, but nobody but Amarie could hear me. Once the pain subsided, I looked to Amarie with a blank expression and he was holding a magnificent sword. I noticed something…different about me. I didn't feel and anger, nor did I feel any sadness. I didn't feel anything. I had no emotions or feelings or even a free will. He smiled and took me by the hand and said, 'Come, Aiko. I'll take you home.' He took me downstairs and nodded to one of the staff. They smiled and waved goodbye to me. Obviously, he had somehow been able to sign some adoption papers so he could take me home with him.

"He kept me for a few months, doing whatever he wanted to me. But no matter how much he tried, he could never gain my 'power'. He gave up one day and I overheard him say, 'I owe Akio a favor anyway.' He took me with him on a journey to this academy and introduced me to Akio. Akio liked me right away and said he was my 'brother'. I believed him and became his 'sister'. Even though we looked nothing alike, everyone believed we were truly brother and sister. I was introduced to the student council, all of who aren't part of the council today, and Akio told me I was to be the Rose Bride. I participated in all the duels, letting the victor of the duels draw that magical blade from my heart and going to live with whoever won the duels, but always following what Akio said above everyone else's word. Akio tortured me in the worst cases you could imagine. One day, I guess my body was sick of everything that had happened and it finally got me to gain my mind back. I snapped out of the spell I was under and went to yell at Akio. I told him he was a sick man, which he was and still is. He was so angry that he beat me up. He hurt me so bad that I blacked out. When I woke up, I was in my bed back at the orphanage, as if nothing had happened and it was a horrible dream. But I looked down at myself and I was still wearing my Ohtori Academy uniform. I quickly changed into something else and burned the uniform, wanting to forget everything that had happened. And I did. It wasn't until I came back here that I remembered all this." Aiko took a deep breath and looked to Utena.

"So what are you telling us this for?" Utena said, looking intently at Aiko.

"I thought it would only be fair to warn you what Akio's all about," Aiko replied, and then looked to Anthy. "Anthy, I want you to know that I'm pretty sure that Akio's not your brother. And I know what he does to you. He's done it all before to me. Akio is a horrible—" Aiko stopped she saw a figure in the doorway and she had a feeling she knew who it was.

"Miss Aiko," A deep voice started. "Come with me." Aiko got up and said to Utena, "I'll be back." She went to the figure in the door and her suspicions were correct. The man was Akio. She followed him to the planetarium. He sat down on the couch and sighed deeply.

"So, you've finally retrieved your memories," he said. "I can't say I'm surprised. But still, this is cause for a celebration. Let down your hair." Aiko knew what would happen next if she did that.

"N-no…" she said, shaking her head.

"Let down your hair, or I will do it for you," Akio said, a little more firmly. Aiko still shook her head.

"No!" she screamed. Akio got up and fiercely pulled on the ribbon holding up Aiko's long blonde hair and soon Aiko's hair had fallen all around her. He pulled her close to him, falling on the couch. The shutters closed and the projection started. Aiko looked around and muttered, "Stars…"

END PART EIGHT

Hi! Okay, I know my theory of becoming a Rose Bride is going to cause a lot of controversy, but here it is. To become a Rose Bride you must A) Have a million swords of hate pierce your body, B) Have your soul sword pulled from you, and C) Believe you are Akio Ohtori's sister. All in that order too. I know I'm probably going to get a lot of comments on this one, so go ahead! I love comments, the good and the bad!


End file.
